Zhou Qin and Masako Tachibana heard this voice and turned toward it involuntarily. They saw a woman running in a cherry blossom kimono. It was the woman whom Zhou Qin had met before.
Masako Tachibana recognized her at a glance and was startled, asking in surprise, “Mother?”
The red-robed monk, who had been reciting scriptures in a low voice, also raised his head at this moment. He opened his eyes in surprise and looked at the woman, then suddenly stood up and asked in surprise, “Tsuruko Tachibana, why have you come?”
He saw that the gloomy look that had been on Tsuruko Tachibana’s face had been swept away. Although he looked a little anxious, there was a deep sense of enlightenment in his eyes. “If you find the truth in the morning, it will be worth it if you die during the night.”
The red-robed monk suddenly widened his eyes and asked, “Tsuruko Tachibana, do you understand?”
After quickly walking to the little room, Tsuruko Tachibana put her hands in front of herself and placed her palms flat on the insides of her thighs. She bowed slightly to the red-robed monk and said respectfully, “Great Master Kaisai Hikariuni, we meet again! We haven’t seen each other for a long time!”
The 413th Great Monk of the Zhenyan Tantrism, Kaisai Hikariuni, put his palms together and said with a look of surprise and admiration, “Amitabha, Tsuruko Tachibana, I didn’t expect that you would really understand! Congratulations!”
At this time, behind Tsuruko Tachibana, the young girl also trotted over. She ran to the door, looked at Zhou Qin, and then looked at her mother, Masako Tachibana.
When Masako Tachibana saw her, she frowned and glared at her sharply as if to say, “How could you disturb my mother?”
Tachibana Wakako secretly stuck out her tongue and didn’t dare to speak. She immediately hid behind Tsuruko Tachibana and pulled a face at her mother. The sly look in her eyes said, “It’s not me. It’s grandma who wants to come!”
Masako Tachibana stood up and bowed respectfully to her. She said, “Mother, congratulations on your meditation! But, why are you here?”
Tsuruko Tachibana also bowed to her daughter politely and said, “I came here to ask you for a favor.”
Masako Tachibana took a quick look at Zhou Qin. She frowned and said with slight displeasure in her heart, “Mother, do you intend to plead her case?”
Tsuruko Tachibana smiled slightly and said, “Yes, please agree.”
The rules of the country were strict. Although Tsuruko Tachibana was the mother of the former patriarch and the former Goddess, she was also the current Minister of Offerings. Although she was the mother of the former patriarch and the former Goddess, she was humble and respectful when she spoke.
Masako Tachibana said with slight anger, “Mother, don’t you know that she hurt the mountain-protecting monk, offended the fundamental tower, and offended the Okunoin? Did she commit a lot of unforgivable crimes? If I let her go like this, how can I explain it to others? Can you imagine how, if she does this, the people of other sects will spite us behind our backs?”
Tsuruko Tachibana sighed softly. She took off her wooden gourd and walked up to the couch with small steps. Then, she knelt down and said softly, “Masako Tachibana, I know what she has done. But for my sake, please let her go.”
“Why?” asked Masako Tachibana angrily.
Tsuruko Tachibana took a look at Zhou Qin and said, “Because she asked me to comprehend the Tao!”
Masako Tachibana’s face was immediately filled with shock. She looked at Zhou Qin in disbelief. “Her? She’s a cultivator who has only just stepped into the Jinshen phase. How could she have given you pointers? Mother, are you confused?”
Tsuruko Tachibana sighed softly and said, “Masako Tachibana, it’s you who are confused! Don’t you know that Saint Confucius was once instructed by children? Have you not read the story of the two children’s debate? The Great Tao is invisible and its voice is loud. It doesn’t mean that just anyone with a high Cultivation Quotient will master the Great Tao. Sometimes, something can be right beside us, but we won’t pay attention to it. If Zhou Qin hadn’t accidentally given me a message when she broke in, I’m afraid I would still be trapped in the mystery.”
Masako Tachibana glared at Zhou Qin, unwilling to give up. She said, “But she just said something she didn’t want to say!”
Tsuruko Tachibana smiled and said, “That’s right! There was a saying in the first chapter of ‘Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio’ written by Pu Songlin. On the day of your 10th birthday, I told you about it. Do you still remember ?”
Masako Tachibana said without hesitation, “I remember. You said at that time that one should do good for the sake of being good, although goodness is not rewarded. One should not do evil, although evil is not punished! But what does it have to do with the matter of Zhou Qin?”
Tsuruko Tachibana smiled and said, “A kind heart is good, but a good heart is not rewarded. Shouldn’t you reward a kind heart? Although I didn’t leave my house, I know what happened at the foot of the mountain just now. The monks who protected the mountain also made a mistake. If they hadn’t used an Illusion Spell to explore Zhou Qin’s background and offend her, such a thing wouldn’t have happened. It should be regarded as an unintentional act. Moreover, considering she’s only a messenger, Masako Tachibana, you… had better let her go!”
Masako Tachibana looked at her mother incredulously, her head down. She said in surprise, “Mother, how could you plead for an outsider like her? She whipped the monks of our Mount Kōya and defiled the foundation of the tower. Isn’t she doing this on purpose?”
Tsuruko Tachibana said, “When the strong are on the hunt, the weak seek to protect themselves. How can they care so much? If you blame the elk for killing a frog in a panic because of the lions and tigers chasing it, I think there is a big problem with your cultivation!”
Over the past ten years, Masako Tachibana had been invincible. Not only had she received very high prestige in Zhenyan Tantrism, but she had also gained high prestige in the whole Japanese Cultivation World. By this point, she was at the peak of her Qi of heart. How could she listen to such words?
She looked at her mother in shock and anger and shouted, “My Lady Mother! How dare you doubt my way of cultivation?”
Seeing that her daughter was so angry that her face had changed, she sighed in her heart. She prostrated herself on the ground with her upper body and said, “Masako Tachibana, if my words offend you, please forgive me! But… I believe that after a few years have passed, you will understand what I am saying now!”
Masako Tachibana couldn’t help laughing aloud. Zhou Qin, who was standing to one side, heard them talking quickly in Japanese. Although he didn’t understand what they were talking about, he could roughly figure it out by observing their words and expressions.
Zhou Qin turned to Tsuruko Tachibana, who was pressed to the ground, and said, “Are you begging for mercy on my behalf? If so, thank you very much, but you don’t have to! If she really has the ability to keep me here, then let her try!”
Hearing her words, Masako Tachibana immediately turned her head, stared at her with sharp eyes, and shouted, “Who do you think you are? How dare you talk to me like this again and again!”
As soon as she started shouting, the air around her seemed to shatter like glass. The power was really fierce and horrible. Zhou Qin’s skin tightened, and then all the hair on her body seemed about to explode. All 36,000 hairs on her body stood up in an instant!
For a moment, Zhou Qin was overwhelmed by her imposing manner. She couldn’t help but be stunned, but she soon came to her senses. She frowned and was about to make a move, but Tachibana Wakako suddenly pulled on her sleeves secretly and whispered in Chinese, “Stupid sister, don’t quarrel with my mother. She’s so fierce. Do you really want to stay here?”
Zhou Qin knew very well that she was definitely no match for Masako Tachibana. It was just that he couldn’t get off the stage for a while. At this moment, when she heard the words of Tachibana Wakako, she suddenly felt a chill in her heart and thought to herself, “Yes, if I get left behind, what if Li Yundong loses because of my relationship in the fight with this girl? What should I do?”
Thinking of this, Zhou Qin’s arrogance suddenly disappeared. She no longer spoke, but lowered her eyes and nose, as if she had become a docile lady in an instant.
Tsuruko Tachibana sighed softly and said, “Masako Tachibana, I know what you’re thinking. You want to take her down so that she’ll be distracted and then we can take advantage of her when she settles a score with Li Yundong. When did our Mount Kōya become so useless?”
After hearing about Li Yundong from Tsuruko Tachibana several times, she finally couldn’t help losing her temper. She turned her head and shouted at Tachibana Wakako, “Was it you who told her these things?”
Tachibana Wakako quickly waved her hands and said, “No, no, I just told grandma what I saw and heard when I went down the mountain!”
Tsuruko Tachibana sighed softly and said, “It’s not her who said it. Don’t think that I haven’t left that place for more than ten years and don’t know anything. Masako Tachibana, I’m not old enough to have lost my wits!”
Masako Tachibana said angrily, “Will I take advantage of this Li Yundong? Mother, you look down on me and I can only tolerate so much! Do you think it’s been easy for me to support the ancient meaning school for more than a decade? If there’s no explanation for this matter, do you know how much trouble I’ll get into?”
Tsuruko Tachibana looked at her daughter with sympathy and said, “I have figured out how to make up for the mystery of heaven with the biggest flaw in our goddess lineage. As long as you let her go, I will tell you this secret. If you don’t let her go, then… you will lose on the day of the fight!”
Masako Tachibana was furious. “Will I lose? Mother, you said I would lose?”
At this time, Tsuruko Tachibana raised her head and looked at his daughter without moving an inch. She said word by word seriously, “Yes, with your current state of mind, you will lose!”
Masako Tachibana was so enraged that she laughed angrily and said, “Okay! For your sake, I will let her go back! In a few days, I will fight her in front of everyone in the Japanese Cultivation World, and let you know whether I lose or not! As for your so-called secret, I don’t want to know and simply don’t care about it! I have been invincible for the past ten years thanks to having more than ten years’ training in kung fu!”
She sighed in her heart. She didn’t want to argue further, so she leaned over again and said to her daughter in a respectful tone, “In that case, thank you very much. I wish you a great victory.”
Hearing her words, Masako Tachibana felt that every syllable was ear-piercing and heart-wrenching. She pointed to the door and said angrily, “Get out! All of you get out!”
At this time, Tachibana Wakako tugged on the corner of Zhou Qin’s clothes in horror, indicating that she should follow her quickly. Zhou Qin also knew that this was not the time to be a hero. In addition, the angry roar of Masako Tachibana just now had made her feel a little scared. Without saying anything, she turned around and left.
Kaisai Hikariuni, who had been silent and reciting scriptures in a low voice, opened the curtain and glanced at the back of Zhou Qin. He sighed softly and said in a low voice, “It is easier to release the tiger to the mountain than to escape the dragon into the sea! Amitabha!”
When Masako Tachibana heard this, a fierce light flashed in her eyes.
Zhou Qin quickly left the Okunoin. Because they saw that Tachibana Wakako was accompanying her, the monks who were going to arrest her stopped for a moment and just glared at her angrily.
After leaving Mount Kōya, Tachibana Wakako patted her chest and said in shock, “I’ll leave you here. You can go back by yourself. Don’t make my mother so angry next time. She’s difficult to deal with! Go quickly, in case she regrets letting you leave.”
Because of what had happened at the Taoist assembly, Zhou Qin had always had a bad impression of Tachibana Wakako, but now that she had left the tiger’s mouth, she had reduced Li Yundong’s worries and was secretly grateful.
Zhou Qin smiled and was about to speak, but at that moment, she suddenly saw a huge statue of a goddess appear on Mount Kōya.
The statue of the Goddess was made up of clouds in the sky. The woman was holding a sharp sword in her hand, and it was vaguely recognizable as Masako Tachibana. She raised the long sword in her hand and suddenly swung it down!
Tachibana Wakako let out a loud scream, “Oh no, Mom’s mad. Run! Come on!”
